Close-knit Bayside Family's Prolonged Deportation Drama is Over
A prolonged deportation battle that threatened to rip apart a close-knit Bayside family from Korea has finally been resolved.
Joanne Lee, an 18-year-old CUNY honors student, received her visa just hours before she was set to start school late last month.
It was the end of a tumultuous year that started with a threat of deportation for the teen, her mother and her disabled sister.
"We have righted a big injustice," said Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens and L.I.), who helped cut through bureaucratic red tape to bring Joanne home from South Korea. She had voluntarily gone there in August for a 10-day visit to iron out her immigration status.
Her parents, Bong Chang Lee and Yoojung Choi Lee, came to the U.S. nearly a decade ago to seek treatment for Joanne's younger sister, Hayoung, who has severe developmental disabilities. Her dad works full-time as manager of a food plant in Rockland County and has a green card.
But when an immigration broker mishandled the family's paperwork, they lost $16,000, and Joanne, her mom and her sister faced deportation.
That would have left Joanne's father alone with little brother Jason, who was born in the U.S.
The Korean-American community rallied behind the family, and the law firm of Bretz & Coven allowed senior associate David Kim to handle the case pro bono.
Deportation proceedings against Yoojung and 16-year-old Hayoung were dropped on humanitarian grounds.
Joanne's case was separated so that the accomplished scholar, who graduated from Townsend Harris High School, could get a visa more quickly and have better access to colleges and financial aid, Kim said.
The plan hit a snag when the U.S. consulate in Seoul refused to issue her an immigrant visa.
"I thought my life was over," said Joanne, whose Korean name is Haeun. "I didn't know what was going to happen."
After three days of phone calls and emails between Kim and immigration authorities, Ackerman and other advocates intervened and Joanne received her visa.
Hours after returning to the States, she started an ambitious program at City College of New York with a focus on biomedical engineering. She said she was inspired, in part, by her family's health issues.
"In a small way, I am hoping to make my own contribution to the health care industry," she said.
